Nation in brief

Departing Gustav is hurricane

MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Gustav was upgraded Wednesday to a hurricane, the season's first, as it headed toward the Canadian Maritimes, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which dumped up to 6 inches of rain on North Carolina's Outer Banks, had strengthened with a maximum sustained wind up to 90 mph, the hurricane center in Miami said. The minimum for a hurricane is 74 mph.

Radioactivity-tainted ship ordered to wait at sea

NEWARK, N.J. -- A ship detained after traces of radioactivity were detected in its cargo was temporarily ordered back to sea, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.

The Liberian-flagged container ship, the M/V Palermo Senator, was ordered to stay in a security zone 6 miles offshore while the inspection continues.

In Washington . . .

NEW FAA CHIEF: The Senate on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Marion Blakey, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, as chief of the Federal Aviation Administration. Blakey will succeed Jane Garvey, whose five-year term expired in August.

MAYOR LEADS IN WRITE-IN TALLY: Mayor Anthony A. Williams had a commanding lead at the end of the first day of counting write-in ballots in the city's Democratic mayoral primary.